Convention Hall was built in 1931 and originally
named Municipal Auditorium. This large indoor arena could accommodate
the city's giant events, and for decades that is exactly what it
did. The site was used for many huge Philadelphia
gatherings including the 1936 & 1948 Democratic National Conventions,
and the
1940 & 1948 Republican National Conventions. In 1960, the NBA All-Star game
was played at Convention Hall. In that game,

the
East team beat the West 125-115 and Wilt Chamberlain was named MVP. When
Pope John Paul II visited Philadelphia in 1979, the venue was used
for a Catholic mass. Other events through the years included Atlantic Ten & Big Five college
basketball games, concerts, professional wrestling, Philadelphia
76ers and Philadelphia Warriors NBA games, commencement ceremonies
for the University of Penn, Drexel and La Salle, and many other
major assemblies.
However, it is the historic list of boxing events that most
interests us.

Herman Taylor & Bobby Gunnis promoted the first
boxing card at Convention Hall on May 11, 1932. The main event that
evening featured the a 10-round win by Steve Hamas over Tommy
Loughran before more than 12,000 paying fans. This fight was the start of
big things for Convention Hall boxing. More than one hundred boxing
shows would follow.

Of all the fight-game headliners through the years, the
great Sugar Ray Robinson starred in the most main events at the
venue. The first
of his seven Convention Hall appearances came in 1941 when he
defeated Marty Servo over ten rounds. He also faced Al Nettlow
(TKO3), Sheik Rangel (TKO2), Jose Basora (D10), George Costner
(KO1), Bobo Olson (KO12), and Joey Giardello (L10), in his only
Convention Hall defeat.

Harold Johnson headlined six times between 1948
and 1960. He won them all except for a 10-round loss to Archie Moore
in 1949. Included in his victories was his decision win over Jimmy
Bivins.

Fritzie Zivic and Ike Williams fought in five
main events each. Zivic went 3-2 in his bouts, beating Mike Kaplan,
Saverio Turiello, and Johnny Walker. Only Johnny Barbara beat Zivic
here - and he did it twice.

Ike Williams lost his first main event at 34th & Spruce when he was KO'd by
Bob Montgomery in one of the venues biggest events. 14,807 boxing
fans paid to see the fight. It was the second best attendance for a
fight card at the Hall. Williams won the rest of his main events
including a close-call 15-round decision win over Freddie Dawson to
defend his lightweight crown in 1949.

Joe Louis and Gus Dorazio are responsible for the
largest fight ever held at the site. On February 17, 1941, Louis
defended his world heavyweight championship by knocking out Dorazio
in the second round. It was a stunning performance by a prime Brown
Bomber. The match drew 15,425 paying customers who paid a gate of
$57,553. Louis returned to the Hall in 1948 to headline a card in an
exhibition bout! A strong supporting card featuring up-and-coming
prospects Percy Bassett and Harold Johnson helped to sell tickets on
that night.

Bob Montgomery, Len Matthews and Joey Giardello
all headlined four times. Montgomery scored two of his career-best
wins here (KO12 Ike Williams & KO8 Wesley Mouzon). Len Matthews beat
Orlando Zulueta and Ray Lancaster during the early part of his
exciting career. Joey Giardello fought three legendary bouts at
Convention Hall, including his only successful middleweight title defense.
In that fight, Giardello edged Ruben "Hurricane" Carter on December
14, 1964. 7,652 fans paid to see the title match, but at least
another 1,000 crashed the gate that night, which broke the heart of
promoter Jimmy Riggio. Before winning his title, Giardello lost to George Benton in an all-Philly battle of wits
in 1962. The bout was extremely close, but the 10-round nod went to
Benton. Also in 1962, Giardello fought in one of the greatest
all-time Philly bouts when de won his rematch with Henry Hank. The
fight was named the "Fight of the Year" by Ring Magazine and was one
of the bloodiest and most savage wars in the city's history.

Perhaps the very best fight ever staged at
Convention Hall occurred on October 19, 1959 when Charley Scott and
Garnet "Sugar" Hart waged war before less than 5,000 spectators.
Hart jumped out at the opening bell looking for a quick KO. But
after he began to tire after a couple of rounds, Charley Scott began
a savage beating that finally toppled Hart in round nine. It was
Scott's career highlight and the beginning of the end for both
fighters.

Probably the most notorious fight to be held at this arena
occurred October 20, 1954 when Johnny Saxton took the welterweight
title from Kid Gavilan with a very dull and controversial 15-round
decision. The bout was considered a dog and many who witnessed the
bout
were suspicious of the official verdict.

But the all-time king of Convention Hall was
promoter Herman Taylor. He arranged more than half of the boxing
shows at this venue. His first was the site's inaugural fight card in
1932 (Hamas-Loughran), which he promoted with his partner Bobby
Gunnis. Taylor's final work at Convention Hall happened 41 years later in
1973. In between these two events, some of Taylor's most memorable and successful promotions
happened here. Over the years, "Muggsy" Taylor sold at least 400,000
Convention Hall tickets.

The final chapter of Convention Hall's history
was highlighted by shows featuring two of Philly's best boxers of the modern era. In 1982,
bantamweight king Joltin' Jeff Chandler defended his title against
his amateur and high school rival Johnny Carter with a sixth round TKO.
It was perhaps Chandler's absolute peak in the ring. Meldrick Taylor
made a pair of appearances, the second of which was his 1992 defense of
WBA welterweight
title. His opponent was Glenwood Brown. In the exciting match, Taylor was dropped
twice but still managed to win the decision. However this victory was
Taylor's last in a championship ring. He would lose his belt and
two more title tries after fighting Brown. Further, the Taylor-Brown
card was
also the very last boxing event ever held at Philadelphia's Convention Hall.

Finally after
more than ten years of silence, the building was carefully torn down
beginning in 2005. In its place the University of Penn Hospital
erected a new heath center which was scheduled to open in 2008. The
city of Philadelphia built a new Convention Center at 11th and Arch.
This new venue occasionally stages boxing matches.